Overview

Presbyopia is that the gradual loss of your eyes' ability to specialise in nearby objects. It's a natural, often annoying part of aging. Presbyopia usually becomes noticeable in your early to mid-40s and continues to worsen until around age 65.

You may become conscious of presbyopia once you start holding books and newspapers at distance to be ready to read them. A basic eye exam can confirm presbyopia. You can correct the condition with eyeglasses or contact lenses. You might also consider surgery.

Symptoms

Presbyopia develops gradually. You may first notice these signs and symptoms after age 40:

Ø  A tendency to hold reading material farther away to make the letters clearer

Ø  Blurred vision at normal reading distance

Ø  Eyestrain or headaches after reading or doing close-up work

You may notice these symptoms are worse if you're tired or are in a neighborhood with dim lighting.

When to see a doctor

See an eye fixed doctor if blurry close-up vision is keeping you from reading, doing close-up work or enjoying other normal activities. He or she will determine whether you've got presbyopia and advise you of your options.

Seek immediate medical care if you:

Ø  Have a sudden loss of vision in one eye with or without eye pain

Ø  Experience sudden hazy or blurred vision

Ø  See flashes of light, black spots or halos around lights

Ø  Have double vision

Causes

To form a picture, your eye relies on the cornea and therefore the lens to focus the sunshine reflected from objects. The closer the thing, the more the lens flexes.

Ø    The cornea is the clear, dome-shaped front surface of your eye.

Ø    The lens is a clear structure about the size and shape of an M&M's candy.

Ø    Both of these structures bend (refract) light entering your eye to focus the image on the retina, located on the inside back wall of your eye.

The lens, unlike the cornea, is somewhat flexible and may change form with the assistance of a circular muscle that surrounds it. When you check out something at a distance, the circular muscle relaxes. When you check out something nearby, the muscle constricts, allowing the relatively elastic lens to curve and alter its focusing power.

Presbyopia is caused by a hardening of the lens of your eye, which occurs with aging. As your lens becomes less flexible, it can not change form to specialise in close-up images. As a result, these images appear out of focus.

Risk factors

Certain factors can cause you to more likely to develop presbyopia, including:

Ø     Age. Age is the greatest risk factor for presbyopia. Almost everyone experiences a point of presbyopia after age 40.

Ø     Other medical conditions. Being farsighted or having certain diseases — like diabetes, MS or cardiovascular diseases — can increase your risk of premature presbyopia, which is presbyopia in people younger than 40.

Ø     Drugs. Certain drugs are related to premature presbyopic symptoms, including antidepressants, antihistamines and diuretics.

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